Bruins hope to bolster playoff chances vs. Maple Leafs

Hockey Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Bruins will try to bolster their playoff hopes when they visit the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs for tonight's clash between Original Six clubs at Air Canada Centre.

The Bruins are currently holding onto the eighth and final postseason berth in the East with 69 points -- giving them just a two-point edge over the ninth- seeded New York Rangers.

Despite being fourth in the Northeast Division, the Bruins are just 10 points behind first-place Buffalo. Toronto is last in the division, as well as the conference, with 52 points.

The Bruins have won three of four meetings against Toronto this year and have taken 10 of 12 overall. Boston has also notched seven victories in its last nine trips to Air Canada Centre.

Boston had a two-game win streak halted Sunday in Pittsburgh, losing 2-1 to the Penguins in a game that saw Bruins forward Marc Savard suffer an injury on a dangerous hit.

Savard suffered a Grade Two concussion late in regulation on a blind-side hit to the head by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke. Cooke caught an unsuspecting Savard with a shoulder moments after he released a shot from the high slot. Savard lay motionless for several minutes while being attended to by the medical staff. He was eventually taken off the ice on a stretcher and is out indefinitely.

No penalty was called on the play, but the league is still investigating the hit and a suspension could be levied against Cooke as early as today.

"A guy like that has to be suspended," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said of Cooke. "And that's the way I see it, because it's an elbow to the head from the blind side. That's exactly the example they show of what we've got to get out of this game."

Savard has missed 23 of Boston's 64 games this year, mostly due to foot and knee injuries. Despite missing time, he is tied for third on the Bruins with 33 points.

Blake Wheeler had the lone goal for Boston on Sunday and Tim Thomas was saddled with the loss despite making 31 saves.

The Bruins are playing the third test of a seven-game road trip tonight. Boston is just 15-11-5 as the visiting club this season and had won five straight as the guest before Sunday's loss.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs were defeated for the fifth time in six games on Sunday, losing a 3-1 decision in Philadelphia.

Nikolai Kulemin scored the lone goal for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three of four since the NHL returned from its Olympic break. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 22 stops in the loss.

Tonight marks the first of three straight on home ice for Toronto, which is just 11-14-5 as the host this year.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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